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New Orleans Saints to Pull Away From The NFC South This Season
Published: May 28, 2009
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If history repeats itself then the New Orleans Saints much like Daniel-san, will rise from their late-blooming, too-small, too-inept status to win the NFC South this year.
The Saints finished 8-8 in the 2007-2008 season, good enough for last place in what is, statistically, the best division in professional football.
For five of the last six years, with last season being the exception by one game, the worst team in the NFC South has gone on to win the division the succeeding year.
However, the Saints have a little bit more for them and a little bit more against them then simple history. It all starts with defense and it continues with a little Sean Payton pizazz, a little Matt Ryan sophomore slump, a little bit too much time for Jake Delhomme and a little lack of direction for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Saints actually have all of the pieces to see the playoffs this season, beginning with their offense. Quarterback Drew Brees was on pace to break Dan Marino’s single season passing records for most of the season and, as a result, the Saints led the league in most major offensive statistical categories.
However, the Saints struggled to find a balance as they finished in the bottom half of the lead in both rushing yards, touchdowns and rushing yards per carry, as well as finishing six spots away from being the worst scoring defense in the league.
New Orleans has found its identity in Sean Payton “trickeration” for too long and the front office is ready for change, to say that there will be some changes to the Saints identity this season is like saying that there will be some minor changes to the football-player-formerly-known-as-Chad-Johnson’s jersey this season.
Unfortunately, wishes do not alway turn into reality as the New Orleans front office failed to improve the rush offense prospects for the Saints during the offseason. (Note to New Orleans front office: drafting a too-big, too-slow Wisconsin running back isn’t improving the rush offense.)
To add injury to injury, long gone are the days that New Orleans fans and coaches can believe that tailback Reggie Bush is underperforming and waiting on his peak.
With the shelf life of the average NFL running back topping off around 27 or 28 years old it’s safe to say that Bush has neared his peak. Meaning that he’s not a feature back, he’s a great special teams player and receiver out of the backfield with the chance of breaking a sweep every now and again.
Where the Saints lacked in improvement in the ground game, they made up for improvement on the defensive side of the ball. An adjustment that was extremely important for New Orleans.
Although “defense wins championships” has become a boring cliché in the NFL, it still stands as truth. Only three of the top fifteen scoring defenses missed the playoffs last season and two of those teams missed the playoffs by only one game.
New Orleans added renowned defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to give its defense a spark.
Not only will the Saints reap the benefits of Williams’ fire and knack for play calling but they should also see the benefits of a revamped defensive secondary that is about as different from last year’s team as near is to far.
Young players such as cornerbacks Malcolm Jenkins and Jabari Greer will have a huge impact on this year’s New Orleans defense and will benefit greatly from having veteran and free agent signee Darren Sharper on board as well.
Things are certainly changing in New Orleans but the Saints will still expect plenty of fireworks from the likes of Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey, provided Shockey’s hangovers don’t prevent him from showing up to games.
Improving one’s own team certainly helps in the quest for the playoffs but seeing other teams decline is never discouraging. That is the case in the NFC South, which may still be the best division in the NFL.
In Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme is aging fast and the defense is missing a few key wheels. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay will most likely be suffering the major growing pains that come along with a new coach.
New Orleans has a legitimate shot to crack the top two in the NFC South, which means a wildcard spot for certain. However, in order to do that, the Saints will have to improve their scoring defense. Whether that’s by virtue of a more ball-control oriented offense of a defense that keeps its opponents out of the endzone on an even semi-respectable basis, one cannot tell.
The bottom line is, New Orleans has plenty of pieces. It’s now up to Payton and Williams to put those pieces together. If they can do that, and they should, then the rest of the NFL will certainly be hearing chants of “Who dat?” echoing from the Big Easy this postseason.
Saints Finding a New ‘D’
Published: May 27, 2009
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Apparently, not enough can be said about the New Orleans Saints’ offense. From head coach Sean Payton’s coaching brilliance to quarterback Drew Brees’ ability to pick apart an opposing team’s defensive secondary to running back Reggie Bush’s much anticipated return, people everywhere go ga-ga for the Saints scoring side of the ball.
However, it was a scoring problem on the defensive side of the ball (the Saints finished 26th in the league in points allowed) that most likely kept the Saints out of the playoffs last season. This offseason, the New Orleans front office attempted to remedy its defensive woes with some key draft picks and free agency signings. Those signings and draft pickups are going to be key players in the formula for the Saints’ success in the 2009 season.
As the Saints’ draft showed, the primary concern for the 2009 season was finding a future star to anchor the defensive backfield. Of course, who can blame the team for searching for a new star defensive back as cornerback Mike McKenzie was lost to injury and the team finished in the bottom half of the league in pass defense. The Saints recognized that McKenzie was a huge loss and were desperate to remedy his absence.
“Losing a player like Mike McKenzie is pretty significant,” Payton told the media during Saints organized team activities. “He’s a guy who has been a real good corner, not only for us but in the league for a long time.”
Two players looking to fill the gap left by McKenzie will be rookie Malcolm Jenkins, an All-Big Ten performer at Ohio State, free agent signee and six-year veteran Jabari Greer and second year player Tracy Porter, who had a promising start for the Saints in 2008 prior to breaking his wrist. While Jenkins missed the late OTA, both Porter and Greer were present and Payton was pleased with what he saw and is excited about his defensive backfield’s potential.
“We saw a lot of good things from (Porter) early on before the injury against Minnesota and he’s definitely a guy that is going to be pushing to be on the field, not only in a sub position but as a full-time starter,” Payton said.
“I think (Greer) has pretty good instincts,” Payton said. “He has pretty good quickness and agility and good ball skills. He’s a guy that does a good job in man coverage and can play zone. He provides us with another player that can come in and compete at that position and I think all these guys understand that.”
While Payton made it clear that starting positions were not being determined during OTAs, he also made it clear that he and first-year defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are happy to have 12-year veteran, and free-agent acquisition, Darren Sharper on board at the safety position to help the young defensive backfield.
“There are a lot of nuances to playing that position and when you have a veteran player, the players that are playing alongside of him can benefit from that,” Payton said. “I think that can help.”
Another free agent joining the Saints in 2009 on the defensive side of the ball is seven-year veteran linebacker Dan Morgan. Morgan was picked up from the Panthers, and, though he hasn’t played a complete season in his NFL career, Payton is confident that Morgan will be in the mix come kickoff.
“He’s experienced and he’s a guy who has been very productive and very successful in our league,” Payton said. “The key with him is that he’s in real good shape. He works extremely hard and he has trained well so I think the layoff in his case in regards to the physical aspect probably isn’t as significant. The key is the mental work that he’s doing along with the rest of these guys as they’re picking up the system. As we move into training camp and put pads on, him staying healthy will be the big thing.”
Finally, the Saints have one more big name signing that they expect to be making a bid for the starting lineup when they open the season on Sept. 13 against the Detroit Lions. On May 19, New Orleans signed four-year veteran defensive end Anthony Hargrove, who was coming off of his one-year suspension for repeatedly failing drug tests.
Hargrove has had a big imact on the field, totaling 6.5 sacks in his only season starting with the St. Louis Rams in 2005. Although the Saints have several talented defensive lineman, Payton is excited to have Hargrove on board and confident that his past issues are just that … in the past.
“I think you give (Hargrove’s suspension) a lot of weight,” Payton said. “You look closely at it and you try to treat each case individually and spend a lot of time asking questions that we feel like are the right questions. If you get the right answers and you feel like your research is positive, then you’re in position to sign a player like that. If you don’t, then you move on. In his case, we felt good about those answers.”
There will be plenty of position battles and new faces on New Orleans defense. However, much of the pressure to revamp a defense that struggled last season, finishing in the bottom half of every major statistical category, will fall on Williams. Payton is happy with the new attitude that former Bills head coach and Jaguars defensive coordinator is bringing to the team.
“They’ve been flying around and you can see that there’s a big emphasis in turning the ball over, getting your hands on the ball and trying to take the gray area out of whether it was complete or not and whether it was a fumble or not,” Payton said. “Anything that’s on the ground, they’re doing a good job of getting to the ball and I think that’s a big first step in playing good defense and I think Gregg and the staff have done a good job of starting with that emphasis of speed to the ball and getting hands on the ball.”
Throughout this summer, there will be a lot of new faces around the Saints complex, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Though it’s hard to be sure which ones will be on the field come opening day, it’s easy to see that things will be different for the New Orleans defense this season.
